Back to the Garden

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. John 15:1

Back in 1970 Joni Mitchell wrote the now unforgettable song titled “Woodstock.” A famous line says; “We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.” Perhaps today in the midst of rioting, shutdowns and general societal chaos a lot of us feel that same longing to be able to get back to that first garden… the Garden of Eden. Though I have always loved Joni Mitchell both as a song writer and singer; the hope for returning to the innocence of creation’s garden doesn’t lie within ourselves. The path to that place runs through another garden where the body of our crucified Lord was buried. There on the third day when they came to find Him He was not to be found (At least not at first). But Mary Magdalene remained behind even when everyone else had gone home. By going and waiting in that garden she discovered that Jesus had been there waiting all along. Today He is there still waiting for you and I. It is the Garden of Prayer and He longs for us to come and meet with Him there.

Answered Prayer

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”   Matthew 14:30-31  

When Peter began to sink beneath the waves; he didn’t consider even for a moment trying to swim back to the boat. Instead he just cried out; “Lord save me!” and it was done. God is delighted to answer prayer but He is waiting for us to give him our biggest problems; ones beyond simply blessing our food and giving us a good night’s sleep. Sadly when I think of this story I realize how little I have really lived it. Maybe it is because I am afraid of a God who is too real and too big for me to handle. But oh how I am missing out on the immense value of answered prayer.

Are you like me, sinking in your struggle with an ocean too big for you to handle? Then instead of just saying words and then trying to swim why not cry out; “God I’m in trouble – I need your help right now!” God is listening and waiting to hear our voice. He knows the path ahead and His amazing plan is to walk it with us!

Still a Revolutionary Idea!

On this National Day of Prayer I thought it appropriate to return to where the founders began on July 4, 1776.

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  Declaration of Independence

  • As we pray we must humbly remember that everything we have comes from God
  • As we pray we must believe that God will hear and answer prayer just as he did for the signers of The Declaration of Independence.
  • As we pray we should ask not only for God’s help for us but also for what He would want  us to do to help for others.
  • As we pray we must always remember that we are His creation and that without Him nothing else matters. No prosperity will ever be enough, no success can be final and no joy will last unless we put our trust in Him.

In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11

On this 7th of May in 2020 in the middle of the Corona Virus Pandemic, it continues to be true that trusting God is still a revolutionary idea!

close up photography of american flag

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